


I Have Always Followed My Heart

by Aerin_Windwalker



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, BOTW mild AU, Binarism, Bullying, Duty, Dysphoria, Lots of Angst, Non-Binary Link, Other, Parent Issues, Tragedy, Trans Link (Legend of Zelda), Transphobia, ace/aro Zelda, frank discussion of zora sexuality, i warned you it was tragic, may add additional tags, minor blood descriptions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-13 04:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21488680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerin_Windwalker/pseuds/Aerin_Windwalker
Summary: Mipha has faithfully followed the path set out for her, even when her heart's desire is the center of a cosmic struggle doomed to die. But if the chance were given to choose otherwise... would she take it? And how would that change anything?Follows Mipha through her first meeting with Link to the fates the world has set for them both.
Relationships: Link/Mipha (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	1. A Reckless Child

_“I was thinking... this reminds me of the time we first met. You were just a reckless child... always getting yourself hurt at every turn.”___

“Remember, you will be in the presence of our ally the Hylian king. I expect the same deference to him as you give to me.”

“Yes, Father.” Eyes bright with repressed curiosity, Mipha snuck quick glances fown the side halls they passed when her father's attention wavered. She could defer and wonder at the same time, couldn't she?

They emerged into bright sunlight and Mipha blinked. They were walking by a courtyard filled with shouts and the sharp ringing of steel. A group of young people dressed in leather padding yelled the loudest and attacked each other ferociously with dulled swords. One in particular stood out from the rest, with hair almost as bright as the sunlight and nearly a head shorter than the other youths. But the child fought with a ferocity that outmatched their size.

Mipha could see the anger growing on the other youths' faces, because suddenly three of them broke off their parrying partners and surrounded the smaller child. She sucked in a breath.

But the child seemed undaunted. With a wild yell, the child swung back and forth to catch the strokes of opposing blades. Mipha could see the others tiring, even though they managed to land several hits by sheer force of numbers. One particular blow opened up an angular gash on the child's head, and bright red shone beneath the sunlight. Caught off-guard, the child went tumbling through the dust, flailing limbs careening into a shocked Mipha.

She held the child without any thought. Mipha felt a sudden warmth blossom in her hands. The child in her arms froze, then twisted away, surprise written on their face. They touched a hand to their forehead, where the gash had stopped bleeding. Their hands revealed whole, unbroken skin.

“Mipha, what are--” Her father turned to see the two staring at each other. “Mipha! Come!”

Snapping her gaze away from the blonde youth, Mipha returned to her father's side. He kept a firm hand on her shoulder the rest of the way to the audience chamber.

Mipha automatically followed royal protocol while her mind was elsewhere. What had happened? Who was that child? And what had been that strange warmth? She felt her heart beat faster at the memory.

The afternoon sun slanted down the wall as Mipha stood under the window, waiting for her father to finish discussing travel plans with his guards. She felt a light tap on her shoulder.

“Psst! Hey!” A hand holding a skewered bass dangled from the window. It was followed by tousled yellow hair and a familiar face. “This is for you.”

Politeness made her automatically bow slightly as she took the skewer, while inside she marveled that a Hylian child should know what one of the Zora ate.

The child grinned, the serious demeanor she had observed earlier vanishing like mist in sunrise. “My name is Link. What's yours?”

“Mipha,” she said, quietly, aware of her father just around the corner.

“Thanks for earlier, Mipha,” Link said, indicating the previously gashed forehead. “I don't know what you did earlier, but I was able to go back and fight.”

Mipha's smile was embarrassed. “I'm afraid that I don't know what I did earlier, either.”

This did not appear to faze Link. “You live over in Zora's Domain, down the river, right?”

Mipha nodded.

“I'll come visit you! My father makes trips out there sometimes.”

She felt another warmth, this time in her chest. A slow, more genuine smile emerged. “I'd like that.”

Link winked at her, then glanced over her shoulder, whispered, “Bye!” and slipped out of sight.

One of her father's guards laid a hand on her shoulder. “Mipha, it is time to go.”

She hid the fish behind her back as she turned and nodded. With a last glance back at the window, she began the journey home in the lightly gathering dusk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh hello! Welcome to my Mipha fic that is not at all based off a certain 1988 film which will become clearer as the story goes on. I have perennially felt that she got the very short end of the stick story- and character-wise, and so I hope to correct some of that. I've tried to look up all the in-game dialogue but I might have misquoted a few things, so feel free to correct me.  
But seriously, it's not going to be a happy ending! I'm sorry! That will be for another time. This is going to draw out the full argh of her character arc. You have been warned. Please know I love Mipha with all my heart.


	2. Quiet Days

_“I was always willing to heal your wounds. Even back then.”___

“You can swim up that?”

Link looked up the roaring waterfall with awe.

Mipha gave a quiet smile. “It's what we're born to do. Any Zora can.”

The youth put hands behind their head and whistled. “Still! I'd get crushed. Hey, can you take anyone with you?”

“I...” She tried not to wonder where this question was going. “Yes, my brother Sidon sometimes comes. He is still learning.”

Link's eyes widened eagerly. “Take me! I'm not that heavy! Come on... I'd love to see,” they pleaded, trying to restrain obvious enthusiasm.

Mipha put her hands behind her back to hide her sudden nervousness. It was one thing to be teaching her little brother, but a young Hylian...?

She shook her head, mildly dismissing her own thoughts. Link saw the gesture and looked down. “Sorry, I didn't mean—”

“No, that's not—” Realizing her words might just make things worse, Mipha reached for Link's hand instead. She flipped a fin towards the falls.

The grin returned, more radiant than ever.

Link scrambled awkwardly onto her back. She laughed softly. “I assure you, I am more solid than you seem to think.”

A chuckle not entirely devoid of nervousness met her words.

She dove into the water with a simple arc of her fins. She felt Link's grip tighten on her shoulders. The water pressure pounded her face as they neared the falls. Slipping through the smallest gaps, feeling the changes of the water against her skin like the language she had always spoken, she found that path of least resistance and dove – up.

Gravity became one more wave against her face as she flew through the water, unaware of anything except the path she sought, found, and swam in the same instant. Everything flowed through her, and briefly the water seemed like glass, and the sun rose with her.

They emerged in one long leap, water droplets scattering like diamonds as they broke the surface, then plunged back. A few swift strokes had her back to the river's edge.

The roar of the falls drowned out most words, but she could see, in between their gasps, the exhilaration on Link's face.

“Wow!” She saw the words formed on the youth's lips. Link pointed to the next fall excitedly. She could not help but laugh.

Two rushing, breathless leaps later, they stood near the top of the crest that dominated the valley of Zora's Domain. The wind whistled softly through the grass, and the sun glittered off wet skin and scale alike.

Link trotted to the edge to look down. Mipha put out a hand to stop them, but her efforts were accomplished instead by the sudden halt and falter in the youth's stride. “Wait! Link, you're hurt.”

Link glanced at her sheepishly. “Hit my leg on something with that last jump. It's okay, I'll...” Their words stopped as she laid a hand on their shoulder.

This time, she was ready for the warmth bubbling up within her, coursing through to the one she touched. Link took a deep breath, then looked down. A small trickle of blood was all that remained on otherwise smooth skin.

Mipha sat down slowly in an attempt to conceal the wave of tiredness that swept over her. She was still unused to this power, what it needed and what it took. Link sat down beside her.

“You don't have to do that every time, you know,” they said quietly.

She turned, hearing the serious concern in that warm voice. She could only meet the eyes beneath the golden hair for so long before she turned away.

“If I have a power, it is my duty to use it. And I... I would not see you hurt.” The end of her sentence was almost as soft as the wind in the grass.

“I don't want you hurt either, silly,” said Link matter-of-factly. They plucked a blade of grass and ran it lightly across her shoulder, which she twitched back from in surprise. “Ah! Are you ticklish?”

She glared. “Yes, and you are not to take advantage of that!”

Link gave the wickedest grin she had yet seen, though they stood to bow as regally as if they were in court. She realized her last words had come out in a tone of command. She made to apologize, but the look on the Hylian's face told her that nothing had fallen amiss between them.

They remained, red scales and golden hair, in the sun atop the waterfalls,for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me you have played this game and not spent hours watching wind in the grass and swimming up waterfalls while messing with the camera angle. That's not just me, right?


	3. Useless Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note for my readers, this chapter contains a dysphoric episode, please take care of yourselves! <3 No, this isn't me working out personal issues, why do you ask? (It totally is.) Oh, and a frank discussion of Zora sexuality, but that's easier.

_“I thought it was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown-up so much faster than I did.”_

She could hear the sound of something breaking, and her steps quickened a little more. She had the afternoon off in the castle, and she knew where the knights' training quarters were, but... was that pottery shattering?

Ahead of her, a door in one of the quarters was open, and she stopped just in time for a brown pot to fly across the hall in front of her and shatter on the opposing stone.

“Link?!” she called in alarm. There was a sudden grunt of surprise, and a mop of golden hair peered out of the doorframe. She saw anger fading quickly into embarrassment in their eyes upon seeing her.

“Mipha! … I didn't know you were there. I, I'm sorry.” They tried to close the door to the room quickly, but not before Mipha could catch a glimpse of other pottery that had met its final demise in the conflict of gravity and stone.

“Are you okay?” she asked gently. Link didn't answer immediately, head hung low so she could see nothing beneath the fall of hair. In the silence she could see, in what felt startling, how much longer and broader Link's body had gotten. Hadn't it been only … a few years since she had first met the youth? But every time they met, she seemed to meet a new person. She had known Hylians aged differently, but it was mildly unnerving to see it firsthand.

The space between words stretched between them. Carefully, she laid one hand over Link's. At that she received the full intensity of Link's eyes, and to her surprise there were tears in them.

“Come on inside,” they mumbled, and kicked pieces of pottery out of the way as they tried to clear a path inside the room. “You don't wear, I'm sorry, no shoes...”

“Broken clay isn't sharp enough to harm me,” she said firmly. “Sit down.” Startled by Mipha's sudden directness, the Hylian sat. She went to sit next to them, said more gently, “Don't worry about me. What's going on?”

Link stared into nothingness for a while. At last, they whispered, “Mipha... is it important to you if... I am a boy or a girl?”

The question was the last thing the Zora had expected. The first surprised answer was the one that fell off her tongue: “I've never thought of any of that when I think of you.”

Link turned, the full intensity of the sapphire eyes on her. “Really? You don't think I'm one or the other?”

Mipha gave a flutter of her fins, the Zora equivalent of a shrug. “Link, Hylians are so different from Zora. I don't understand how you think about... gender, right? Or is it sex? I think more about what to cook that you will eat. Not that I have ever had difficulties.” That elicited a short chuckle from the Hylian at least.

“How do Zora think of it?” The intensity was still there.

“We... don't? Honestly, you having a category for things like that is like... oh, if there were seven different words in Zora for the types of noses out there.”

Link stared at her.

“Exactly! It doesn't matter for children... anyone can make eggs, and anyone can fertilize them. It's a matter of preference. It's only the Hylian tongue that gives us... sex.”

Link blushed wildly at her words, and she could not understand why. Her puzzlement must have shown on her face, because the youth suddenly shook their head and mumbled something Mipha couldn't catch. In a louder voice, Link continued, “Well, then... this won't make much sense to you, but maybe it will, but... uuuh, it doesn't make sense to me either.” They hung their head between their hands. “I'm not either, you see, boy or girl, but the older I get, the more I'm put into one, and sometimes the other.” She could see Link's fingertips digging into their temples. “And my father will hear none of this. I'm tired of arguing. I'm tired of feeling... like a freak. I'm tired of feeling alone.”

Her heart ached as she put an arm around shoulders that were suddenly shaking. She didn't let go.

After a time, Link wiped at their face. They turned to her, and there was a faint smile on their face. “I'm glad you've never thought anything like that about me.”

She smiled, even as she carefully wiped a tear-track off Link's cheeks, surprised at her own daring. “I'm sorry... I'm sorry others seem to need something so useless of you.”

Link laughed at that. “Useless is a good way to put it.” They kicked at a pottery shard near their feet. “I don't know. I think I'm going to have to fake something, most of the time. But...” They looked up into Mipha's eyes once more. “I'm glad I don't have to fake anything with you.”

She squeezed the youth's hand, unsure if they could feel how the words squeezed her own heart. “I'm glad, too.”


	4. A Future in Shadows

_“So if this Calamity Ganon does, in fact, return, what can we really do? We just don't seem to know much about what we'll be up against.”_

“Another meeting, Father?” said Mipha, yawning.

“Yes, first thing tomorrow,” the king Dorephan sighed, though the footsteps of the Hylian contingent had only just faded from the chamber. “Rhoam wants to discuss strategy.”

She was irked by the Hylian king, though she did not wish to say so directly. “He seems to lean heavily on his daughter.”

Her father turned to regard her. “Are you trying to say something about my treatment of you, beloved daughter?”

She shook her head quickly. “There is no comparison, father. Only... only an observation.”

Dorephan sighed again. “And an astute one.” He gazed in the direction the retinue had taken to retire for the evening. “It is difficult to strategize around such a key element of his plan.”

She felt her eyes beginning to glaze over again, and hastily she said, “With permission, father, I will withdraw.”

He gave a start, then nodded. “Of course. It is late. Get some sleep; I do not expect to need you first thing in the morning. I need to talk things over with Muzu.”

She gave a bow and left the room.

Before she ran off to where her thoughts were, she checked on Sidon. He was sound asleep, his small form relaxed into the warm waters of his pool. She stroked his head gently, so as not to wake him, then hurried out towards the Hylian camp.

She found Link standing near a tree outside of the firelight and tents, holding a spear and shield. They managed a smile on seeing her, but it faded quickly.

“Guard duty,” they informed her, somewhat redundantly. She nodded, her fins flicking.

“I will stand with you for a while, if that is all right.”

The Hylian youth shrugged. Mipha fell in next to them.

“How have things been? It has been almost a year now since your father's passing.”

Some emotion she could not read contorted Link's face briefly. “It's kind of you to remember the date. But I don't think of him much.”

She glanced at the spear, firelight flickering on its tip. “You seem to have other things on your mind.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

She was startled at the sudden harshness. “I am only asking. If this is not a good time and you are tired...”

“We're all tired, and I don't think it will change anytime soon.” Now she stepped away from Link, and at her movement the Hylian sighed. “Mipha, I'm sorry. But... you're right, I am feeling overwhelmed right now. You heard the king mention seeking out the weapons of the past in order to prepare for the coming darkness. In two days I am to go to the castle, deep beneath it. There is supposed to be a sword of great power there. Everyone thinks I am going to be the one to use it.”

“A powerful sword? Why?”

“It is supposed to seal the darkness. And... they found my name, written in its stone.” Link's voice grew very small at the end.

Mipha stepped back towards the lone guard. She could not see a tremble in the spear or shield, but she could hear the hint of one in Link's voice.

“Mipha, what if this sword is mine? What if I'm supposed to... what if I have to fight this?”

“You will not fight alone,” she replied firmly. She felt the scales along her fins stiffen in determination. “I will always be with you.”

“I don't want you hurt,” said Link softly.

“To prevent your own harm is my job,” she said shortly, more than she intended. “I... you are right, we are tired. I'll see you in the morning.” She left before Link could object further. Her heart ached with the tenderness that she wanted for them, a tenderness she could not stand coming from them for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhoam! You're such a bad dad!


	5. Princess to Princess

_“But know this: that no matter how difficult this battle might get... If you—if anyone ever tries to do you harm... then I will heal you.”_

Mipha stood along the edge of the throne room, with only a few others. She watched as Link's hair caught the morning sun, then remained the last thing she could see, as they walked into darkness.

Beside her, she could hear the princess's poorly concealed sigh. Glancing to the side, Mipha could see the Hylian princess dart a quick look to check if the king had noticed. His gaze was also fixed on the dark outline of the door into which Link had disappeared.

Finally, Zelda broke the silence and said, “It is an honor that you could join us, Princess Mipha.”

Mipha felt uncomfortable hearing her title hang in the air. Technically, it was correct. But her father thought she was just taking some time to train. She did not know how well he might react to her going to see the trial of a... Hylian knight. So she was not here on official capacity, but no one had precisely questioned her, and if she did not correct some assumptions, well...

“I am grateful to be permitted,” she said quietly, as honestly as she could.

“I can see that you take your duties as Princess of the Zora seriously,” rumbled the voice of King Rhoam. “That is commendable.”

The faint flush that suddenly appeared on Zelda's cheeks did not escape Mipha's notice.

“We are grateful to have the Zora as our allies,” the king continued. “We will need everything possible against the coming of the Calamity. The prophecies are abundantly clear on this point.” Zelda said nothing, but her hands were clenched.

Mipha suddenly could not stand the tension in the room, and could not stand the thought of sitting in a room to wait for Link. An idea occurred to her. “I wonder if the Princess Zelda would care to walk with me?” The princess looked at her, surprise plain on her face. Mipha quickly continued, “Perhaps, we may be able to help each other.”

The frown across the king's face deepened for a moment, but he must have understood her deliberate insinuation, for he nodded and turned away from them. Zelda glanced at Mipha as if uncertain, then walked off almost too fast for propriety to allow. Mipha followed.

Out on the castle parapets, Zelda turned to her. Before she could say anything, Mipha put up a hand. “I apologize. It is clear to me that you both have your struggles, and I only hoped to put some distance between us. I hope that I did not place you in a difficult position.”

Zelda folded her arms, but shook her head. It occurred to Mipha that the princess was far younger than she (the same age as Link, but she tried not to think of that). Even so, she seemed to have the forebearance of someone much older.

“No, there is no position you could put us in that would be more difficult than what we do ourselves,” she sighed. “Thank you.”

Encouraged, Mipha felt able to say, “It didn't... it didn't seem quite fair.”

Zelda looked at her directly then, and her eyes shone quite brightly. She turned away abruptly to look out over the battlements. Below them the castle was a hub of activity, but they were far enough up that it seemed remote, the noises muffled.

After giving her a moment, Mipha moved to stand beside her. Zelda remained silent, but at last she said, “Thank you. I wish... I wish I could do what he asks of me. I am trying, truly I am. But--” She broke off as her gaze caught the flash of sunlight on feathers. A bright, small bird landed near the parapet on which they stood. Zelda put a finger firmly to her lips, and crept closer. She took out a small slate while Mipha held her breath in an effort to be silent.

There was a small click, and abruptly the bird flew away in a burst of rainbow feathers. But Zelda clapped her hands together, the moroseness of a moment ago vanished.

“Did you see that? They've never flown so close before! They must have found the food I left out for them. Normally I only see them in the Scablands, but I'd hoped to lure a few closer to home. Did you see their feathers? All the colors of the rainbow! They're so beautiful!”

Mipha could not help but laugh at the sudden outburst of passion. “You have quite the eye, Princess!”

“Please!” Zelda turned to her, and there was a genuine smile on her face. “It's Zelda.”

“Then I am Mipha,” Mipha replied, sharing her smile. She stepped forward to hook her arm through Zelda's. “Shall we walk?”

“We must at least look like we're doing what we told Father we would...” Zelda laughed. They strolled arm-in-arm across the broad pathways in the sunlight as Mipha inquired into Zelda's studies, and received enthusiastic outpourings in return. Her only hope had been accomplished – for the next while, she could thoroughly not worry about Link.

“It's clear to me you have a talented mind,” Mipha admired. “I don't think I could understand half the catalogues you have come up with.”

“That's only because no one has put together a proper sort of education,” explained Zelda breathlessly. “In my rule, I hope that I can change that! Father won't listen to me talk of schools, because of the Calamity's proximity. But really, we've found so much already, from the Ancient world, I can't imagine we'll be unprepared. And we must think of the future! We can't let the current crisis keep us stuck in the present, never thinking about tomorrow.”

“It seems to me that Hyrule will be very lucky to have you as a ruler, when you think this way.” She was started to see Zelda's face fall at the intended compliment.

“I... oh, I'm sorry, Mipha. I appreciate your words, I really do. But it's obvious nothing I do will gain my father's approval. I can't even bring myself to be interested in his discussions of planning for heirs. Like I'd ever be interested in... and before you ask, it's not because I'm so young,” she said, in response to a look Mipha had not known was on her face. “I've always known I've had no interest in that whatsoever. I admire my parents, but can't on earth imagine how they managed...!”

“I think that is the sort of thing one prefers not to imagine, regardless,” maintained Mipha. At that Zelda burst out laughing.

Their conversation lasted through much of the day, only interrupted by the arrival of a royal guard, who found them both discussing the different properties of the fish in Zora's Domain.

“Your Highnesses!” the guard called. “The king tells you that the knight has returned.”

Both princesses turned and dashed for the stairs.

They burst into the throne room to find Link collapsed halfway out of the door through which they'd last seen the youth. Rhoam was there, but the two of them were at Link's side in an instant, both seizing the youth to drag them out and into the sunlit throne room. A sword, its bright polish gleaming in contrast to the dirt and blood that covered Link, lay clutched in the young knight's hand. A scabbard that had not been with them earlier was slung across their back.

“Link!” Mipha whispered. Blood stained the knight's tunic, and more seemed to be seeping through. She did not hesitate. She knelt by Link's side, Zelda across from her, and laid both her hands on Link's body. A light flared from her, sharper and brighter than the afternoon sunlight that covered them, and she felt the tears in the body begin to knit themselves together. Tendrils of pain whipped her, coming from their connection, but she did not let go until she could sense that Link was whole again. As the light faded, Mipha slumped back. She felt herself caught by Zelda's firm arms.

Her last recollection before she closed her eyes in weariness was Link's eyes, opening to meet hers, life and blue light glinting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I 100% think Mipha meant to say "if anyone tries to do you harm, I will hurt them" but she's too nice. I also totally think Zelda and Mipha would be/are great friends. They have a ton in common. Overbearing fathers, dedication to duty... I hate relationships that are about fighting over someone so this is how I imagine it.  
Rhoam, you're still such a bad dad! Did anyone else's heart break over finding his diary in Hyrule Castle? It's not his story so this won't feature, but my heart cracked. ;-;


	6. Take It Respectfully

_“No matter when, or how bad the wound... I hope you know... that I will always protect you.”_

“The champion... is the Hylian with the sword that seals the darkness.” Mipha murmured the words softly to herself, floating and watching the stars overhead. She replayed Zelda's visit over in her head, how the princess had worked with her to master the complex controls of the Divine Beast, and how swiftly and apologetically she'd informed Mipha of the last Champion.

“I'd hoped you wouldn't be chosen,” she whispered. “I'd hoped that... well, I don't know how. But I'd hoped that I could protect you from the Calamity. I wish you weren't to be on the front lines.” The nearby waterfall drowned out her words to all but the most attentive of listeners; still, she kept her voice low.

“It's selfish, I know. But I understand. Our duties, both of us, are bigger than we are. Still. I wish it were otherwise.” No one could hear her. The water would take her words. “I wish... we could continue to spend time together... oh, this is hopeless.” She flipped backward and dove, losing herself in the rush of water, wrapping herself in its cool embrace. She swam around the pillars that held up the graceful arches of Zora's Domain, careful not to disturb the schools of fish lying still in nighttime meditation. She let the currents take her, until she followed her sudden impulse and leaped up.

There she stood. Silent, and yet gentle. The hands who had created the arc of her trunk had to have known beauty. They would not have put such work into a mere weapon.

“Ruta...” Mipha swam over to the great beast's flanks, pulled herself gradually up. The waters of the river receded, to be replaced by the great dome of stars above when she could sit on the shoulders of Vah Ruta. The stone felt warm beneath her.

“Ruta, I feel you understand,” she whispered. “My heart squeezes until I can't breathe at the thought of them hurt. At the thought of them...” She could not finish her thought.

“I think my father is coming round,” she said at last, after a long silence. “I doubt the others will, especially Muzu, but Sidon is ever so sweet, and if he and my father can... I don't think the rest will matter much.”

A glint of starlight caught her eye. Curious, she crawled over to the top of Ruta's head. Nestled in a pocket of stone was a shining star of metal. The shape was hauntingly familiar. She touched it, and to her surprise it came loose in her hand.

She held it up. “Is this... are you saying...?”

The wind whistled gently across the stone of Ruta's skin.

“A promise... yes, I understand.” She held the star close to her chest. “I will make it. For them. Thank you, Ruta.” She laid a hand on the beast's head. “Let us protect them, you and I. Let us protect them with every ounce of strength we have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOT throwbacks? Check. Starlit angst? Check. Making use of tiny in-game details? Check. So you can figure out where this is on the Zora Armor, it's the little Zora sapphire symbol.


	7. When This is Over

_“Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young. You know... Perhaps we could spend some time together.”_

“Thank you for coming to spend this evening with me,” said Mipha softly, leaning against Link. She felt gentle pressure as they responded in kind. “I know you must stay with the princess.”

“She's preparing for tomorrow,” Link replied. “And we are grateful for your hosting all of us.”

Mipha giggled. “I felt so bad for Daruk! I don't think the crafter of that waterbed thought about Gorons.”

“Design flaw, the more you know.” Link's tone was light, but their eyes were distant.

“Are you worried about her?” asked Mipha.

“Yes... and no.” Link looked at the clouds above them thoughtfully. “You've seen how she tortures herself. There's no question of her dedication. If she awakens... then it will be fine. And if not... we have so much support. I don't understand the k—” They broke off abruptly before disloyalty could leave their lips.

“We both know,” said Mipha softly.

“It's just... I have a terrible feeling about tomorrow. Like a stormcloud that won't leave. I don't know where it's coming from. My head aches.”

“We were out practicing a lot today,” she said gently. “And you were riding, and supporting the princess.”

“I hope it's just that.” They leaned back further, and put their head in Mipha's lap. A wave of sensate delight flooded each of her scales, and she had to catch her breath before they noticed. But, seeing Link's eyes close, she gave into temptation and softly, almost timidly, began stroking their hair. Link pressed back briefly into her hands in encouragement, and her heart almost stopped.

“Thank you for being here with me,” she whispered.

Link opened one eye, and the first smile she'd seen all day crossed their face. “You know I feel safe with you.”

She had to look up, and hope that the moisture on her face could be mistaken for the glimmer of torches.

“After this, would you have a bit of time free? After the ceremony tomorrow, I mean,” she said finally.

“I won't really be off-duty with... with my appointment, but I doubt Zelda will need much persuading to stay and study in Zora's Domain. Why?”

“I have something I'd like to give you,” she said, finally daring to utter the words. “It doesn't have to be soon. But... sometime, when you are free?”

“Of course.” Link's eyes were closed again, and she could feel the ever-present tension ebbing. She closed her own eyes, fixing this in her memory. The feel of hair between her fingers. The warmth in her lap. The blue of the tunic, even the stern sword sitting nearby, all of it, she wanted to hold forever.

A sharp crack sounded, and in an instant Link was on their feet, the sword drawn and in their hands. The motion was so sudden Mipha nearly toppled backwards, though half a second later her own trident was in her hands.

“Sorry!” Zelda's face appeared from around the corner. “I tried to catch a firefly, but I dropped the jar. It's entirely my fault.” She saw them both in arms, and sheepish sadness crossed her eyes.

Link nodded and sheathed the sword. Then they turned to Mipha. “I'd better go.”

“I understand.”

So swiftly she thought she might have imagined it, the Hylian bent to kiss her cheek. Then they turned and left the room, shoulders square, the tension returned as if it had never left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the world traps us. Sometimes we trap ourselves. And sometimes it is almost impossible to tell the difference.


	8. Choices

Mipha's heart broke at the look on Zelda's face as she descended, Link silent behind her. She knew before the others asked what the results would be.

As the others offered reassurances, Mipha looked at the princess. She had tried so hard. Zelda must feel as if she were letting them all down. How could Mipha reassure her how much she still had all their support?

“If I may... I thought you... I'm not sure how to put it into words. I'm actually quite embarrassed to say it.” She wanted to stop at that, but forced herself to keep going. “But I was thinking about what I do when I'm healing. You know, what usually goes through my mind... It helps when I think—when I think about—”

The rest of her words were lost in a deafening rumble and explosion. The ground shook, and she gasped. She saw Revali take wing, watched the look of horror rise on the Rito's face like smoke.

She could feel that same horror within them all. Not now, not so soon! She felt her plans for the future crumble into ashes as the bright flames lined the horizon. Into the void Daruk stepped, ordering them all to their places. She grasped the firmness of her duty in the sudden maelstrom, and stood straighter. Then she looked over to Zelda, and saw the princess cover her abject hopelessness with a wave of determination.

“There must be something I can do!” she cried.

Mipha did not hesitate. “Come with me. We are closest. Ruta and I will be escorting Link to the castle. Help us... help us protect Link.”

The other Champions looked at her, then nodded. Daruk curled into a ball and shot off down the promenade, while Revali took to the air and carried Urbosa.

Mipha, Zelda, and Link all took off running back towards Vah Ruta.

Hours passed in the span of seconds, and instants stretched forever. Mipha guided Ruta swiftly downriver, with Link and Zelda standing above, the Hylian champion warding off shots from the monsters that had begun to appear everywhere. Zelda had borrowed a shield and was covering Mipha.

“Thank you, Mipha,” she whispered.

“We all do what we have to,” she replied.

“You always think of others first,” said Zelda softly. “I hope one day you get to think of yourself.”

Mipha did not reply. She could feel a part of her that was screaming in horror, watching the countryside go up in flames, the urgency of their mission preventing her from diverting to every Hylian and Zora she saw running or fighting desparately. She could at least make out the glitter of lights that meant the other Guardians were up and running.

They crossed the vast plains towards the besieged castle. Mipha cried aloud. The grasslands swarmed with fighters, and she stopped, unable to move forward without crushing friend with foe.

“Now!” Zelda shouted, and she and Link jumped down. “Mipha, I'll send a signal! Tell the other Champions to watch!”

On other edges of the plains of central Hyrule, Mipha could see the tall forms of the other Beasts. The small Hylians quickly disappeared into the fray.

She saw Daruk working to thin the ranks of the monsters in front of them, so she tried to do the same. But everywhere she looked was chaos. How could she be sure she was not harming their own? At least when monsters jumped her own Beast, she could easily take them with the trident.

Then suddenly the noises of battle went still. And everything went wrong.

Her awareness of Ruta cut off abruptly. Across the field, the glittering blue lights of the Guardians flickered and stilled. Then an eerie red glow flared into being, malevolent. Before her eyes, she saw them turn – and begin to raze the villages.

“No!” she screamed. She tried to move Vah Ruta, but got no response. The controls beneath her hands were cold. And then a wild crimson light burst out, forcibly wrapping itself around air to form a hideous monster. Its blue spear seemed a cruel mockery of her own, and red hair streamed out behind it. She barely caught its blow with her trident, and still the force threw her backwards, almost off the back of Ruta. She could feel the Beast moving, with no order from her – its great feet crushed defenders in its path.

The next blow knocked her trident away, and a hand pressed her against the stone of the Divine Beast, which suddenly seemed as monstrous as the apparition in front of her. One eye glittered with malice as it watched her.

It raised its spear.

Even as she struggled, Mipha closed her eyes.

_So this is it. This is how it ends?_

_No. No! Not like this! Not so quickly, and not without... not without seeing them again..._

She opened her eyes, and the blow had not yet fallen.

The monstrosity was still regarding her. Somehow she felt she had the attention of something far larger.

**You want otherwise,** a low voice rumbled.

_Of course,_ thought Mipha desperately, unable to speak for the hand still on her throat.

**What would you give?**

_Give?_

She had the impression of a cruel sneer.

**I feel your desires through the beast. I can give you what you want.******

_What... what I want...?_

A cold laugh sounded. **Leave your duty behind. That is all you must do.**

Her vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh I'm not satisfied with this, not sure why, but need to onward. I may edit this somehow.  
BUT did it not break your heart to have Mipha interrupted by the arrival of the Calamity? mine did, ugh. this is the last scene that will follow the game, though. ...or is it?


	9. Left Behind

She stumbled, as if in a dream. She was running through a forest. Running? She was. And there was a forest. And beside her...!

Link ran, and she realized they held hands. Adrenaline gave her a burst of speed, and they continued running. She said nothing. They stumbled to the edge of the water, and Link almost toppled over her. She realized the knight was covered in blood and close to collapse.

Without hesitation, she took Link on her back and dove into the river. It was as if the years had never passed. She swam as hard as she had ever known, pulling them both with the current, swimming away from the screams and fire and blood.

She felt, rather than saw, bridges over them as she swam, not looking back. Between her strokes she could feel Link's occasional shifts, a grunt of pain if a backwash hit them. She stayed as close to the surface as she dared, but at every moment she feared to feel a shaft from a well-aimed bow. But they swam, and there was nothing.

The sky, which above them had been red with fire, faded into dark clouds, and then the darkness of a moonless night. The river stretched on before them, cool and unending. The quiet of its flow was broken by a familiar roar ahead, and Mipha realized they were about to come to a set of falls.

“Link, we're going to dive down! Hold on!” she called. Taking advantage of the current's sudden burst of speed, she shot them both over the edge, arcing down in a clean dive into the lake which spread out suddenly before them. A great stone bridge, some of its arches crumbled but the span itself standing proud, loomed before them in the darkness.

“Lake... Hylia...” she could hear a mutter. Nodding in agreement, she swam to the far side of the lake and pulled them both out of the water. She could see the knight beginning to shiver, and they knelt on the grass, too dazed to stand.

She put her arms around them, and jerked back suddenly. She had brushed against something that had burned her. She realized that the sword, the anchor that had tied Link into this battle, was still strapped on the Hylian's back. As she cautiously reached out again, she could feel a warning buzz as her hand drew close. A blue glow from just beneath the hilt intensified.

She looked up. There was still a dim red glow on the horizon, in the direction of Hyrule Castle. Fear shivered her scales. There was still land to cross; they had to keep going. But she could not support Link if the sword hindered her.

She looked at them. They lay now on the grass, clearly drifting in and out of consciousness. She wanted badly to heal them, but needed her strength for the flight. What if the sword gave them away? What if it was tying them back?

She hesitated a moment longer. The memory of golden hair in her lap came to her. Biting her lip, she finally gave a quick slice, and the strap that held the sword across Link's torso flapped free.

Grimly, she picked it up by the scabbard. She could feel the buzzing now, angry like a swarm of bees, and her hands began to tingle. She knew that if she held onto it much longer, the sword would strike.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered, “but they must live!” And she threw the sword into the lake.

It sank, swiftly, and its glow dimmed and faded into darkness.

This accomplished, she lifted Link and draped their arm over her shoulder. Slowly, guiding their steps, she walked forward away from the lake and into the woods.

The woods quickly turned into a marsh, slowing their steps further. When they stumbled across the path, Mipha's spirits lifted briefly, but fell again when she realized they might easily be tracked. She resigned herself to trudging alongside, keeping it in sight, but dragging them through the water where she found it. The stone ruins they passed gave her an eerie feeling, and she tried to circle away from them. They came to a bridge that crossed a river, and she looked at it longingly. But the current took them back towards the central plains, and she did not think Link strong enough to work with her against it.

They continued through the tangled forest which grew greener and wetter as they staggered onward. She did not recognize anything of where they were. The darkness grew deeper, and still there were no signs of pursuit. The quiet began to disturb her more than a sudden attack would.

Link grew heavier and heavier against her, and she felt her own strength ebbing. Just as she decided they would have to stop, through the thickets she could see torchlight. She stopped, feeling for her trident.

It was gone. Somewhere in the rush of helping Link and fleeing, she'd dropped it.

“Hold on,” she whispered to Link, allowing them to slide gently to the ground. They moaned softly while she crept forward to get a better look.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the torches of one of the Hylian stables. It did not appear under attack. Indeed, it appeared that the small outpost was asleep for the night, as if nothing were wrong, as if the very world had not shattered that day.

She almost went forward to seek help, then stopped. Slowly she felt the one thing she carried that still marked her as a Champion. The robe.

If they saw this, they would ask what the Zora – and Hylian – Champions were doing here so far from the castle. They would ask what was going on. They would ask why they were fleeing. Mipha gripped the blue fabric tightly.

It was the last thing she would have to throw away.

She returned to where Link lay and slipped a dagger out of their belt. Quickly she cut her own Champion fabric to pieces, and cut Link's shirt off. It had been hanging in rags, and dirt, and blood anyway, she thought to herself. Let the forest do as it would.

Both of them bare of their origins, stumbling with weariness and pain, they walked forward into the warmth of the stables.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay. This is the part where the story will veer wildly from the game and I'm feeling things out as they go. I've quite a bit written but I'm constantly revising, and sometimes I just need to let it go.


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